Interview GameCloud talks to BioWare doctors

[Greatatlantic]

You know, its not so much that you are forced into combat at one point or anothing, in certain RPGs... its when it becomes the sole reason to almost everything. For example, in the original Old Republic one quest involved settling a dispute between two local farmers. Farmers now, not dungeon keepers or warlords. Does it seem to unreasonable for a highly persuasive character to talk them out of their differences? But no... you had to break into one's house and fight a bunch droids in a very dungeon-esque level. And it wasn't just that quest, the whole game revolved around fighting automatically hostile enemies from point A to point B collecting XP and loot along the way. And the NWN OC was a lot worse in this regard. As for FF, its basically an interactive movie, and I'd be shocked if XII went for a more RPG-ish route. Especially after the X-2 deal.

A better example might be the better parts of Bloodlines. Some side quests required combat, if you weren't a combat character you didn't need to take them. Sometimes combat was inevitable, then you were a supernatural creature so some fighting was believable. Then, a lot of quests required noncombat skills. So if you focuses soly on combat you'd be missing out. Fallout is pretty nice in this regard as well. Plus, no amount of leveling up or gear could guarentee your survival against the more dificult battles, so their was an incentive to seek pacifist resolutions to conflict.

But I'll admit a game in which a purely pacifist play style was acceptable does seem a little difficult to imagine, unless we're talking about Pokemon where knocking your opponents pokemon unconscious was enough to get the leader of a crime syndicate to surrender.

 

[AlanC9]

For example, in the original Old Republic one quest involved settling a dispute between two local farmers. Farmers now, not dungeon keepers or warlords. Does it seem to unreasonable for a highly persuasive character to talk them out of their differences? But no... you had to break into one's house and fight a bunch droids in a very dungeon-esque level.

You don't actually have to fight the droids -- stealth works. Of course, since so much of the XP in KotOR is combat XP, you've got powerful incentives to engage in as much combat as possible.

But why shouldn't a Star Wars game be about combat? Or a D&D game?

 

[Antagonist]

I think he was saying it was implausible even within the given Star Wars setting. Never saw Luke battle droids to get his Blue Milk. :wink:

 

[Greatatlantic]

You don't actually have to fight the droids -- stealth works. Of course, since so much of the XP in KotOR is combat XP, you've got powerful incentives to engage in as much combat as possible.

But why shouldn't a Star Wars game be about combat? Or a D&D game?

The only class in which stealth is even an option was the rogue. However, stealth wasn't an option for any party, since your team mates couldn't use stealth, thus if you got caught chances are you were a goner. Then, like you said, XP comes through combat and little else.

The problem with a pure combat RPG is its just less interesting, for me at least. Especially the way Bioware, and some other attempts at RPGs, have handled it. Basically there are one or two character builds that just are overwhelmingly better. The other builds are weaker and don't offer proper incentives to take the combat ability cuts. A counterexample is Diablo, though I never really got into the game. You had three classes that presented genuinely different ways to fight, and each had strengths and weaknesses. The Warrior was probably the most straightforward to play, but the wizard could use powerful spells. I found KotOR to have bad combat and bad noncombat stuff. Plus, I saw the big plot twist coming a mile away. So there you go.